The Seneca Indian School was a

Native American boarding school American Indian boarding schools, also known more recently as American Indian residential schools, were established in the United States from the mid-17th to the early 20th centuries with a main primary objective of "Civilizing mission, civil ...

located in

Wyandotte, Oklahoma Wyandotte is a town in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 333 at the 2010 census, a decline of 8.26 percent from the figure of 363 recorded in 2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Cult ...

. Initially founded for Seneca,

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

, and Wyandotte children, in later years it had many

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

students. The school operated from 1872 to 1980.

History

In 1867 the Wyandotte tribe was removed to this area. In 1869 the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

(Society of Friends) established a mission in Wyandotte. The Wyandotte Tribal Council donated land for the Quakers to establish a boarding school for Seneca,

and Wyandotte children. Construction of the school began in 1871 and classes began in 1872. Other names for the school were Wyandotte Mission, Seneca, Shawnee, and Wyandotte Industrial Boarding School, and Seneca Boarding School. By the 1920s, the composition of the student body had changed, and was largely

students. In 1927 the school had an outbreak of

measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...

and

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

, and "dozens of children" died. In 1928, a new principal was appointed, Joe Kagey. The school changed its admittance policy, and was opened to children of all tribes. It became an "institutional" school for children coming from situations of hardship. In 1952, there were 173 Cherokee students, and a number of students from other tribes. Kagey retired in 1956. On June 15, 1980 the school closed. The school's 189 acres of land were returned to the Wyandotte Tribe. A selection of school records created between 1916–1970 are held by the

National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

References

External links

*
Seneca Indian School, between Wyandotte and Highway 60Seneca Indian School photographs
National Museum of the American Indian * *

, compiled by Margaret Schiffbauer, 1954.

{{Coord, 36.80167, N, 94.72556, W, display=title Educational institutions established in 1872 Educational institutions disestablished in 1980 Seneca Wyandot Shawnee history Schools in Ottawa County, Oklahoma Native American boarding schools in Oklahoma Public schools in Oklahoma 1872 establishments in Indian Territory Native American history of Oklahoma 1980 disestablishments in Oklahoma Defunct schools in Oklahoma Defunct Native American boarding schools